A Faith Induced by Miracles

Selection from Divine Providence ~ Emanuel Swedenborg
NO ONE IS REFORMED BY MIRACLES AND SIGNS

No one is reformed by miracles and signs, because they compel.

It has been shown that man has an internal and an external of thought, and that the Lord flows into man through the internal of thought into its external, and thus teaches and leads him.

IT IS OF THE LORD'S DIVINE PROVIDENCE
MAN SHOULD ACT FROM FREEDOM IN ACCORDANCE WITH REASON

Both of these would perish in man if miracles were wrought and man were thereby driven to believe. That this is true can be seen rationally in this way.

It cannot be denied that miracles induce a belief and powerfully persuade that what is said and taught by him who does the miracles is true, and that this at first so occupies man's external thought as to bind and fascinate it, as it were. But by this, man is deprived of his two faculties called rationality and liberty, and thus of the ability to act from freedom in accordance with reason; and then the Lord can no longer flow in through the internal into the external of his thought, except merely to leave the man to confirm by his rationality what he has been made through the miracle to believe.

The state of man's thought is such as to enable him from the internal of his thought to see any matter in the external of his thought as in a sort of mirror; for, as has been said above, a man is able to see his own thought, which would not be possible except from a more internal thought. And when he thus sees a matter as in a mirror, he can turn it this way and that, and shape it until it appears to him beautiful; and if the matter is a truth it may be likened to a virgin or a youth, beautiful and living. But when one cannot turn it this way and that, and shape it, but can simply believe it from the persuasion induced by the miracle, it may be likened, if it is a truth, to a virgin or a youth carved from stone or wood, in which there is no life. It may also be likened to an object that is constantly before the sight, and being alone seen conceals every thing that is on either side of it and behind it. Or it may be likened to a sound continually in the ear that takes away the perception of harmony from many sounds. Such blindness and deafness are induced on the human mind by miracles. It is the same with every thing confirmed that is not looked into with some rationality before it is confirmed.

From all this it can be seen that a faith induced by miracles is not faith but persuasion — for there is nothing rational in it, still less anything spiritual — for it is only an external without an internal. The same is true of every thing that a man does from such a persuasive faith, whether he acknowledges God, worships Him at home or in churches, or does good deeds.

When a miracle alone leads a man to acknowledgment, worship, and piety, he acts from the natural man and not from the spiritual.

For a miracle imparts faith through an external way and not through an internal way, thus from the world and not from heaven; and the Lord enters into man through no other than an internal way, which is through the Word, and doctrine and preachings from the Word. And as miracles close this way, at this day no miracles are wrought.

That miracles are such can be seen very clearly from the miracles wrought before the people of Judah and Israel. Although these had seen so many miracles in the land of Egypt, and afterwards at the Red Sea, and others in the desert, and especially on Mount Sinai when the law was promulgated, yet only a month afterwards, while Moses tarried on that mountain, they made themselves a golden calf and acknowledged it as Jehovah who led them forth out of the land of Egypt (Exod. 33:4-6). So again, from the miracles afterwards wrought in the land of Canaan; and yet the people relapsed so many times from the prescribed worship. And again, from the miracles that the Lord wrought before them when He was in the world; and yet they crucified Him.

Miracles were wrought among them because the men of Judah and Israel were wholly external men, and were led into the land of Canaan merely that they might represent the church and its internals by means of the externals of worship, a bad man equally with a good man being able to represent; for externals are rituals, and all of their externals were significative of spiritual and celestial things. Aaron even, although he made the golden calf and commanded the worship of it (Exod. 32:2-5, 35), could represent the Lord and His work of salvation. And because they could not be brought by the internals of worship to represent those things they were brought to it and even driven and forced to it by miracles.

They could not be brought to it by the internals of worship because they did not acknowledge the Lord, although the whole Word that was in their possession treats of Him alone; and he that does not acknowledge the Lord is unable to receive any internal of worship. But when the Lord had manifested Himself, and had been received and acknowledged in the churches as the eternal God, miracles ceased.

But the effect of miracles on the good and on the evil is different.

• The good do not desire miracles, but they believe in the miracles recorded in the Word. And when they hear anything about a miracle they give thought to it only as an argument of no great weight that confirms their faith; for they think from the Word, thus from the Lord, and not from the miracle.

• It is not so with the evil. They may be driven and compelled to a belief by miracles, and even to worship and piety, but only for a short time; for their evils are shut in; and the lusts of their evils and the enjoyments therefrom continually act upon their external of worship and piety; and in order to get out of their confinement and break away they reflect upon the miracle, and at length call it a trick or artifice, or a work of nature, and thus go back to their evils. And he who returns to his evils after he has worshiped profanes the goods and truths of worship; and the lot after death of those who commit profanation is the worst of all. Such as these are meant by the Lord's words (Matt. 12:43-45), that their last state becomes worse than the first. Furthermore, if it is needful to work miracles for the sake of those who do not believe from miracles in the Word, they must be wrought for all such continually and visibly. All this makes clear why miracles are not wrought at this day.

(from Divine Providence 130-133)

Acting from Freedom in Accordance with Reason

Selection from Divine Providence ~ Emanuel Swedenborg

MAN SHOULD NOT BE COMPELLED BY EXTERNAL MEANS
TO THINK AND WILL AND THUS TO BELIEVE AND LOVE THE THINGS OF RELIGION
BUT SHOULD GUIDE HIMSELF AND SOMETIMES COMPEL HIMSELF

This law of the Divine providence — man should act from freedom in accordance with reason — he should do this from himself and yet from the Lord, therefore as if from himself.

Everyone admits, moreover, that it is impossible to compel any one to think what he is not willing to think, and to will what his thought forbids him to will, thus to believe what he does not believe, and wholly so what he is unwilling to believe; or to love what he does not love, and wholly so what he is unwilling to love. For a man's spirit or mind has full liberty in thinking, willing, believing, and loving. It has this liberty by influx from the spiritual world, which does not compel (for man's spirit or mind is in that world), and not by influx from the natural world, which is received only when it acts in harmony with spiritual influx.

A man may be forced to say that he thinks and wills and believes and loves the things of religion; but he does not think, will, believe, and love them unless they are matters of affection and consequent reason with him, or come to be so. Also, a man may be compelled to speak in favor of religion and to do what it inculcates; but he cannot be compelled to favor it in his thought from any belief in it, or to favor it in his will from any love for it. Moreover, in kingdoms where justice and judgment are guarded, men are compelled not to speak against religion, and to do nothing in opposition to it, and yet no one can be compelled to favor it in his thought and will. For it is within every one's freedom to think in harmony with hell and to will in favor of hell, and also to favor heaven in thought and will. But the reason teaches what hell is and what heaven is, and what the abiding condition is in the one and in the other; and it is from the reason that the will has its preference and choice.

From all this it can be seen that the external cannot compel the internal. Nevertheless, this is sometimes done; but that it is pernicious.

More to follow.

(from Divine Providence 129)

The Fire of Life

Selection from Arcana Coelestia ~ Emanuel Swedenborg

That which anyone does from love remains inscribed on his heart, for love is the fire of life, thus is the life of everyone. Consequently such as is the love, such is the life; and such as is the life, thus such as is the love, such is the whole man as to soul and as to body.

As love to the Lord and love toward the neighbor make the life of heaven with man, so when they reign do the love of self and the love of the world make the life of hell with him, for these loves are opposite to the former; and therefore those with whom the loves of self and of the world reign, can receive nothing from heaven; but all that they receive is from hell. For whatever a man thinks, and whatever he wills, or whatever a man believes, and whatever he loves is either from heaven or from hell.

From this it is that those in whom the love of self and the love of the world make the life, desire what is good for themselves alone, and not for others except for the sake of themselves. And as their life is from hell, they despise others in comparison with themselves, they are angry with others if they do not favor them, they hold them in hatred, they burn with revenge against them, and even desire to vent their rage upon them. At last these things become the delights of their life, thus their loves.

These are they who have hell in them, and who after death come into hell, because their life is in agreement with the life of those who are in hell; for all there are of this character; and everyone comes to his own people.

As these persons receive nothing from heaven, in their hearts they deny God and the life after death, and consequently hold in contempt all things of the church. It avails not that they do good to their fellow-citizen, to society, to their country, and to the church; or that they speak well about these; because they do all this for the sake of themselves and the world, in order to save appearances, and to secure reputation, honors, and gains. These are the external bonds by which such persons are brought to do what is good, and are withheld from doing what is evil. As for internal bonds, which are those of conscience, and which dictate that what is evil must not be done because it is sin, and is contrary to the Divine laws, they have none.

And therefore when these persons come into the other life, which takes place immediately after death, and external things are taken away from them, they rush headlong into every wickedness in accordance with their interiors, such as contempt of others in comparison with themselves, enmity, hatred, revenge, rage, cruelty, and also into hypocrisy, fraud, deceit, and many other kinds of wickedness. These are then the delights of their life; and therefore they are separated from the good, and cast into hell.

In the world many such persons are not aware that these thing are the delight of their life, because these things hide themselves in the loves of self and of the world; and at that time such persons call all things goods that favor these loves; and all things that confirm them they call truths. Neither do they know and acknowledge any other goods and truths, because they receive nothing from heaven, which they have closed against themselves.

As love is the fire of life, and everyone's life is in accordance with his love, it may from this be known what heavenly fire is, and what infernal fire.—

Heavenly fire is love to the Lord and love toward the neighbor

Infernal fire is the love of self

and the love of the world, and the consequent concupiscence of all evils, which spring from these loves as from their fountains.

The nature of the life with those who are in hell can be inferred from what it would be among such persons in the world if external bonds were taken away, and there were no internal bonds to restrain them.

The life of man cannot be changed after death. It then remains such as it had been. Nor can the life of hell be transferred into the life of heaven, because they are opposites. From this it is evident that those who come into hell remain there forever; and that those who come into heaven remain there forever.

(Arcana Coelestia 10740 - 10749)